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Review: Rose and Rebellion Baby Carrier

I love baby-wearing and have a couple of slings and baby carriers which I use regularly to carry my 20 month old daughter around, so I was really pleased to be able to try the Rose and Rebellion carrier.

Concept: This is a soft, structured carrier which can be used to carry babies from 3 months either on your front or your back. The carriers are designed to be super stylish and safe, as well as very practical. I was really pleased to see that all the Rose and Rebellion carriers are designed and manufactured in the UK.

In use: Very easy to use, it’s small, light, and folds up very neatly, which makes it easy to carry with you in the car or in your changing bag. Very clear instructions are provided with the carrier, but it is so easy to use I didn’t really need the instructions. However, it did give some very good tips and details on how to get your baby onto your back on your own, which I found very useful. Both the waist and the shoulder straps have good, solid buckles on them which are very easy to fit and adjust, making the carrier very quick and easy to put on. The waist belt is adjustable and fits sizes from 8 to 18 (a separate waist extender is available from Rose and Rebellion).

The carrier can be used on your front or your back, but I used it mainly on my back, as this was the position my daughter liked the best. I have used back carriers before but only very structured ruck-sack style walking back-carriers. I was concerned that the Rose and Rebellion carrier wouldn’t be as good as these as it was so much lighter and less structured, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The shoulder straps and waist belt are well-padded and the carrier was very comfortable to wear, even when my daughter was wriggling about. It also felt very safe. She was nicely cocooned within the carrier and felt really well supported, so I knew she was safe and snug. I also liked that the bottom of the carrier is nice and wide, so she ‘sat’ in the seat well and it supported her under her bottom and legs.

Positives: I used the carrier on several shopping trips around the town and also to carry my daughter to her sister’s nursery and back. It was very comfortable to wear and my daughter enjoyed it and seemed comfortable and happy too. It’s easy to put on and so small and light, making it so easy just to pick up and put it in the car ready for shopping trips, and it’s ideal for older toddlers like my daughter who like to walk sometimes. I was able to take the carrier off and store it in my bag when she wanted to walk, leaving my hands free to look after her.

The carrier looks really good and there are lots of great styles available on the Rose and Rebellion website, and all are really stylish and different. My favourite is Deep Blue (shown in the photo on the right). If you prefer a less conspicuous baby carrier though, they can be reversed so that the plain black inside is visble. We tested the Autumn Walk version (shown in the top photo), and I always wore it with the design showing. It looked great.

Any negatives: The only negative for me was that the carrier can’t be used to carry your child on your hip. My daughter has always liked being carried around on my hip, so when I did do this I had to use another carrier. However, I don’t think there are any carriers which do everything and I think that regular babywearers tend to have a couple of different carriers/slings that they use. The Rose and Rebellion carrier would be a great addition to any parent’s sling wardrobe!

Value for money: The Rose and Rebellion carrier costs Â£67.99, which I think is very good value for money. It’s slightly more expensive than the usual wrap / pouch slings which are available, but it compares very well to other soft, structured carriers. It can be used once your baby is 3 months old and if you bought one when your baby was young, you would get a great deal of use out of it, making it excellent value for money.

Overall: I have really enjoyed using this carrier. It’s great to find something that looks so stylish and different, but is practical and well-made too. I just wish that I had had one when my daughter was a young baby as she would have loved being carried around on my front in it.

Verdict: Overall a 4/5 – if you are looking for a front / back carrier for your baby, this would be ideal.

Sue is a stay at home mum to 2 girls and gets her bargain thrills scouring the internet hunting down good quality stylish products for them. Find out more about Sue.